WWYD with 30 lbs. of pears?

[pear-shaped]

We have a lot of pears! I don't know the variety because I've never seen it anywhere else, but I've heard that it's an old, hard to find one, (which makes me really happy to have the tree.) The pears are very small, very crisp, and very sweet. I'm going to make pear butter, but using just half the pears would give us more than we'd ever eat.

Ideas?

[crunchy_mama]

I was planning on juicing and canning a bunch of pear juice myself. The kids don't drink a lot of juice but considering we get pears free I thought that would save some money and pear juice is a major ingredient of many juice blends.

[tanyalynn]

I _think_ there are ways to freeze pears, say as slices, and then you'd have them for desserts or treats year-round. Not sure if parboiling or something is required, but you could have pie in January.

Pear butter is like applesauce, but with pears, right? That was my first thought.

[RunnerDuck]

Originally Posted by TanyaLopez

I _think_ there are ways to freeze pears, say as slices, and then you'd have them for desserts or treats year-round. Not sure if parboiling or something is required, but you could have pie in January.

Pear butter is like applesauce, but with pears, right? That was my first thought.

Pear pie??? Wouldn't that be kind of... mushy?

I would think the best way to handle tons of pears would be canning. But maybe that's just because I think it would be cool to have enough of my own surplus produce to justify canning it. (You could also store them anywhere and not have to take up your freezer...)

[greeny]

Pear pie is good! I've made it before, and it wasn't mushy. It will help that the pears are crisp.

[Thystle]

Dry them like apple slices?

[zinemama]

I'd make pear sauce (like apple sauce) and freeze it.

[Ann-Marita]

Make pear chutney! It freezes well. Delicious over fruit pies or ice cream. Also an interesting alternative to cranberry sauce for holiday meals.

I'll try to find my recipe - but half my house is in complete disarray, and I can't find my favorite cook book.

[LeahBoo]

I love drying them, they're like candy.

[pear-shaped]

Thanks everyone. I don't know why I didn't think about juicing and drying. We do drink juice and it is so hard to find 100% juice in the shops here. Dried fruit is also really hard to find and there isn't much choice.

I've never canned before and am kind of intimidated by the idea of it. I need to get over that because we have lots of trees and our fruit goes to waste if I don't find ways to use it all. Maybe this is the year to give it a try.

The pears in question are VERY crispy and hold up well (perhaps too well) to baking. I've never made a pie with them, but I have done some tarts and muffins, and the pieces of pear remained crunchy.

[pear-shaped]

I forgot to add, Ann-Marita, if you find the recipe please post it!